VansAirForce.net caps and shirts sold
out for awhile.
November 2012 Update:And cashflow is too tight to
buy any more for awhile......

The VansAirForce.net charity caps and shirts are currently sold out.
I'm waiting until I get a little more cash before ordering some more.
I have to put up over $2000 to order a batch of (288) caps. I just don't have the extra money at this time, so
everything is on hold for now. I'll get back to you. Good
spot to mention the donate
page! ;^)

Good Guys Wear White Unstructured, no button on top, pre-curved visor and a smooth closure
(nothing to protrude into your head). Color 'putty' with an olive underside. The hats are made by
ProLineCap.com of Ft. Worth, TX.

As you might already know from reading the
Charity section,
all profits from this and future VansAirForce.net items go to charity.

Bahamas...photo
taken by
Scott and Deb Mills. Donor cap by Scott Card.

Background info by Scott Card: "Provided off the head of yours truly! Tanya says I even
burnt my "shiny spot" in sacrifice of the effort <g>. I can't believe I
was the only one within reach that had the required head gear. Scott and
Deb worked on that one picture for almost half of that dive, it was
pretty funny to watch. They had it all set up on the bow point of the
wreck that we were diving and were having a heck of a time keeping all
the characters in place long enough to get the picture. Tanya and I hung
out watching the comedy for a few minutes once we saw what was going on.
I just wanted to be sure my hat wasn't being accosted and that I would
get it back. Which I did, it is almost dried out and ready for the
flight home."

67,720 feet up in a U2...photos
taken by Stu "Meat" Broce of the 1st
Reconnaissance Squadron.
...special thanks to Luke Lokowich (RV-8 Prattville, AL)
for helping arrange this. From Luke,
"Underspeed bug is set at 105 kts & mach overspeed is at 117.
Groundspeed of 428 kts ain't too bad for a jet that overspeeds at 160
KIAS!"

Forbidden City, Beijing China......sent in by D.
Allan Stern

On the runway: Inspection Team out and
safing the Orbiter 'Atlantis'...sent in by Doug Drewry
"...here’s a couple from the STS-132 landing at KSC last week. On
the runway, inspection team out and safing the Orbiter. Nice LONG
runway! VERY sorry to say its probably the last mission for this
beautiful bird…"

North Pole...sent in by Kyle
Schroeder
I just wanted to send in a picture of a VAF cap sighting at the
North Pole. This is my good buddy and RV-8 builder Zach Reeder at the
North Pole. This picture was taken shortly before he participated in
and completed the 2010 North Pole Marathon. Zach lives in Mojave, CA.
Julia Tizard photo.

Mountaintop Outside of Kabul, Afghanistan in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom
Attached is a hat sighting on a mountain top outside of Kabul,
Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. I may be on the
other side of the world, but still thinking of my future RV.
FBI Special Agent Joe Walker

At the 2010 Masters...Jon
Crain enjoying Tuesday practice rounds.

Over Baghdad in An EA-6B...Naval
Aviator Zach Kirby

Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab...Chris
Klugewicz"Me, in the Cardiac Electrophysiology Lab at the hospital.
Don't know why my staff was giving me funny looks as I gowned up for the
procedure..."

Golf!In the CBS Sports TV tower on the 17th
hole at the 2009 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.Commentator
David Feherty between two RV drivers.

STS-125 One Day Before Launch...courtesy Doug Drewry These were taken during the L-1 (Launch minus one day) walkdown for
STS-125, approx 24hrs before liftoff to repair Hubble as part of the
Final Inspection Team (FIT), this is basically the last inspection
before rolling back the RSS and tanking begins.Best Regards.Doug DrewryN770TX click to
see the backdrop

Stonehenge!...Terry Lutz.

Leaning Tower of Pisa...Doug
Crumrine.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition SWA
Jet...Stan.

The rest of the story...

Final Resting Place of 'The Red Baron'...Mike
Elliott (RV-8A Fuse). "I snapped this off while visiting the resting place of
the Red Baron in Wiesbaden, Germany."

Mayan City of Chichen Itza in Yucatan,
Mexico.
Pyramid of Kukulcan...Tom and Bonnie Lewis

Hoover Dam...David
F. Jones "I had an opportunity to travel (via US Army Reserve) to the Vegas
area this past weekend en-route to the National Training Center at Ft
Irwin, CA. Had time to kill and visited the Hoover Dam. A nice lady
offered to take this photo. Dam…what a hat..er…Dam!

Chu Chi tunnels North of Saigon,
Vietnam...D Allan Stern

Mission Over Baghdad...Terry
Hester "Just received my Vans Air Force hat and t-shirt and thought I
would send you a picture. It was taken 3 January at 2000Z (2300L time
here in Iraq). I wore it on my mission tonight over Baghdad. (Is it the
first VAF Hat to log combat time? It now has 4.3N) I am assigned here in
Tikrit Iraq flying in support of Task Force Odin. You can Google "Task
Force Odin" for a little more info. I don't have an RV yet, but once we
settle down in one place for a while I will be starting one."CW4 Terry Hester

Front Left Seat of the Spruce Goose......courtesy
Mike Macon!

Trinity Site...courtesy Mannan
Thomason (RV-9) "I'm at the Trinity Site near the White Sands Missile
Range in New Mexico where the first Atomic Bomb was detonated. It was an
awesome experience. I've been to Japan and to Tinnian Island in the
Pacific Ocean near Guam where they loaded the other Atomic Bombs onto
the Enola Gay and Bock's Car for their trip to bomb Japan. This was the
closing of the loop for me."

Yukon Territory (Alaska)
VansAirForce.net Cap Sighting...courtesy Craig Young (-9A) "My wife and I took our trip of a lifetime when we
spent 2 weeks traveling through Alaska and the Yukon Territory last
month. We traveled by car, shuttle, van, bus, train, plane, boat, ATV
and foot. This pix was taken (with cap) from the cruise ship as we
visited Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was pretty chilly that morning even
though it was mid August. I've never been anywhere that was more
spectacular."

At Phil and Angelica Campbell's
Wedding!...Dallas Arboretum 5/31/08. Phil is building a
RV-8.

Undisclosed Location...sent in by KC "I don’t know if this is the first time the new shirt
has made it to a combat zone but I thought I would let you know that it
is serving me well. The new color goes with the uniform just a little
better then my first “collectors” edition. Yes I too was saddened to
notice that a C-17 snuck into the picture, always wants the attention…Take care,KC"

On Portage Lake, at the foot of Burns
Glacier and Portage Glacier in Girdwood, Alaska.Had some downtime during a recent Air Force trip to Elmendorf AFB,
so a few of us hopped in a van and drove down the Seward Highway to
see the Portage Glacier. Not quite what I expected, but still pretty
cool. As you might imagine, it was quite cold on the (frozen) lake.
The wind coming off the mountains was intense - I nearly lost my hat
twice!Ken (jarhead) Moeser

Yosemite National Park!...courtesy
Bryan "Groucho" Duke

Red
Square!...courtesy Scott Flandermeyer

Onstage
at Carnegie Hall...sent in by RV-7A builder Jeremy Constant

"Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? A: Wear a VAF Cap!

Yep, that’s the inside of Carnegie Hall as seen from the high stress
seats. We had to sneak the shot from stage just after they finished
the pre concert lecture. This was taken while on a tour we just
returned from. I had Avery Tools send it to the hotel, so I
could get the shot just before the second concert. Maybe you
could have a caption contest for what the guy in the lower right
corner is saying?!

Regards,Jeremy ConstantRV7A just about to drill the holes for the wing incidence.

PS I’ve been trying to convince the marketing department that they
should sell advertising space on the back of the conductor’s tails,
because that’s what everyone is staring at for 2 hours. Maybe you
could start offering VAF logo wear tails and tuxes?!"

Bahamas!...sent in by Jay Pratt (complete with gag signature)

Summit
of Big Mountain.!...sent in by Brian Carroll (RV-7 Fuse) "RV owners...snowboarders of the sky...rebels....trouble
makers. Looks like there is no hope for me. Snapped this
while waiting for the grandkids at the Summit of Big Mountain.
Glacier Park in the background."

The
Alps, Baby!...sent in by Craig Ward

"What do you do when new VAF hats arrive in the mail? Show them
off! Susie and I were showing off the new VAF hats
during a vacation in Switzerland. These photos are from near the top
of the Jungfrau in the Alps. They leave the door unlocked at an
observation point near the top for you to step outside if you want.
The winds were from 60 to 80 MPH and the temp was in the low teens.
The wind chill makes it a little chilly when you go outside. The
strong winds also pick up small pieces of ice and you have the added
experience of being pelted with small pea-sized ice chunks. Fun! The
view is amazing though. Our GPS showed us at 11,592' when we took
the photos outside. Susie was trying to take the photos quickly and
I was trying to keep the flying ice off of my face. The photo of
Susie inside is just below the Sphinx weather observation station,
the highest point you can get to without breaking out the climbing
gear. Thankfully, there is an elevator to take you up into the
weather station. The stair climbing that you have to do in the
sight-seeing areas makes you aware of the altitude and the rare air.
Well worth the price of the train ticket and the 2-1/2 hour ride up
from Interlaken on the cog railway."-Craig Ward

The Ferrari
Museum In Italy...sent in by Alex DeDominics (taken shortly before
his arrest I would imagine <g>).

PREVIOUS SIGHTINGS

The SAC
Museum...photo by C.Brenden (of his son

The Great
Wall of China...sent in by Paul Stratman"Just wanted to send a pic of a VAF hat spotted in China. My wife
and I spent a very enjoyable vacation traveling throughout China the
last couple of weeks. Here, the VAF Hat was spotted along a section of
the Great Wall north of Beijing.Paul Stratman - Kansas City, MORV-6A - 800 hrs
"Taylor Maid"

Epcot Center...Larry
Gaudreau

The Met in
NYC...Craig Ward "We went to the last performance at the Met that we had season tickets
for this last Tuesday and I had my wife take a quick picture in the
opera house just after the doors opened. No pictures allowed in here
so we turned off the flash and steadied the camera on a seat back.
The shutter speed was slow as it's dark in there and we sort
of doctored up the photo in Photoshop to get it as good as it is
(not saying that it's a good picture or anything). However, it's a
Van's hat photo from the inside of the Metropolitan Opera House in
New York. Everyone should take in a show here at some time in their
lives. It's so much fun."

With Actress
Betty White...during a photo shoot for a
book coverL-R: The yoga
instructor, Betty White and me.
(Franz Freibert photo)

'Aluminum
Overcast' Columbus, OhioMy
wife and I went for a flight on Aluminum Overcast this past weekend
in Columbus Ohio. I totally forgot that I was wearing my VAF hat
that day. Unfortunately I removed it during the flight as the top
hatch of the aircraft was removed and I didn’t want the vacuum to
pull it off my head and overboard. However, I was just going through
the photos and spotted one that my wife captured while touring
around the outside.Ron WalkerN520TX

American Air Museum
Duxford / 100th Bomber Group Air Base Thorpe Abbot / UTAH Beach
NormandyI recently had the opportunity to travel to England and tour some
WWII bomber bases and attend The 70th Anniversary Spitfire Airshow
at The Imperial War Museum Duxford. This was an advertised tour in
Sport Aviation. A great time!!!Photo 100 was taken in the American Air Museum DuxfordPhoto 235 was taken on top of the control tower at the “Bloody”
100th Bomber Group Air Base in Thorpe Abbott.Photo 605 was taken in France on UTAH beach in Normandy.Saw one RV a 6A during the trip.

Jeff Vaughan

Spruce Goose /
Titan II Missle...courtesy Sam Evans"I
had a chance to travel to Oregon this summer. Although I was in
Van’s backyard, our schedule didn’t allow us to stop by their
factory. However, my wife Shellie & I made it over to McMinnville
and the
Evergreen Aviation Museum. The museum is a “must see” for
aviation enthusiasts as it is the home of the famous Spruce Goose
and many other wonderful and rare aircraft.Sam EvansRV7-A BuilderAbilene, TX"

Korean DMZ and USS Blue Ridge...courtesy Tony JohnsonThe shirt was seen
onboard the USS Blue Ridge in the Yellow Sea in one of these pics.
The two other pics were taken at the Korean Demilitarized Zone
(DMZ). I am standing on the South Korean side in the one labeled
Korean dmz. You may be able to make out the North Korean sentry
standing at attention on the upper steps of the building on the
other side. You can probably not make out the Korean soldier with
binoculars in the window to his left. The third pic was
taken actually inside North Korea. There is a building there with
the border between the two countries running exactly through the
middle of the building, therefore some one side of the building is
in each country. I am standing in the North Korea side of the border
in that pic, with a South Korean soldier standing guard. The
one on the USS Blue Ridge was taken by LCDR James Sweet, who is now
considering building an RV.Regards,Tony Johnson

Old Faithful ...courtesy Laird OwensSome of the SoCal folks went to Yellowstone over Labor Day Weekend,
and Tom Prokop (flying RV-6, building RV-8a) was sited wearing a VAF
shirt while taking in Old Faithful.

"...from the
Brazilian Rain Forest. On a island called Ihla Bela. I was down
there in March of this year."

James RaymondN436JE RV-6A

Kauai and Maui

...courtesy Brad Oliver (aka
RV7Factory)kauai.jpg - Taken at 1500', in a Maule, while cruising over the Na
Pali Coast on the North shore of Kauai.

maui.jpg - Taken at the summit (10,023') of Haleakala Crater on the
island of Maui.

Regards,Brad Oliver (aka RV7Factory)

Puerta Vallarta and Doha, QatarI have been busy this summer and taken my VAF cap with me to remind
me of my project. The first picture of of my vacation three weeks
ago in Puerta Vallarta. The second picture is from last week's trip
to Doha, Qatar for work. Eric TandyRV-7A Emp.Keller, TexasRenting out of 52F

Wright Bros. Cycle Shop...Dave Nellis (N410DN
res.) "Just wanted to send a few pics of myself wearing my VAF hat. My
wife and I spent a very pleasurable day walking through Greenfield
Village at the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan. The enclosed
pictures are of the the shop that built the first homebuilt powered
aircraft ever built. The Wright Cycle Shop was moved to Greenfield
Village by Henry Ford and is kept in immaculate shape year round.
Wilbur's desk is still in the front show room. The original tools
used to build the Wright Flyer are housed in the shop in the back as
well as a 1/2 scale working model of the Wright Flyer engine. I cannot think of a better place to wear a VAF hat than where
aviation was born, unless you can get a picture from the space
shuttle with the earth in the background. If it sounds like a dare,
well, it is. Pounding rivets and loving it.Dave NellisN410DN Res."

New England Air Museum(Mark Dews) "This is a picture from the New England Air Museum in
Windsor Locks, CT. B-25 with a P-47 in the background.
Great place to visit."

Somewhere Over Somewhere (mach .789 and
39,000')Photographer, airline,
aircraft and country anonymous - come to think of it, I have no
recollection of who even sent me this. I'd probably forget any
others too...

At The Polo Club"One more sighting, and it seems that improbable
areas, such as Paul Rosales' are becoming favored. Here then is one
taken right before a Polo match at the Tarahumara Polo Club in El
Paso, Texas (sat
image). The beautiful little chapel in the back is often used by
players who pray for heavenly "advantage". I also do that, as well
as occasionally throwing in a request for that perfect line of
rivets at the shop. The owner will be allowing me to land my
RV-8 once it's finished, so the fishing pole tubes will serve double
duty as polo mallet carriers."Tom NavarRV-8 QBtail feathers finishedworking on wings

7-mile Bridge (Marathon, FL)..sent in by Gary Kremers
(RV-7A) "I thought you might like to see a few pictures of “where the Vans
Air Force shirt been”. The first picture is standing on 7 mile
bridge in Marathon, FL. My older son and I flew the RV-7A from
Michigan down to Marathon for a few days while he was on spring
break from college. The second one is on Cat Island in the Bahamas.
The location is the Hermitage, located at the highest point in the
Bahamas. My wife, younger son and I flew down for his spring break
in our Rockwell Commander 114. I did get a few questions about the shirt at Hawks Nest on Cat
Island; you wouldn’t believe how many people are building RV’s!!"Gary KremersN715AB RV-7A

Jack Holland VAF # 414: Just got home
from a cruise in the Bahamas and Key West. A nice perk from a
company I do business with. Attached is a photo of me with my VAF
tee shirt at the bar on deck # 11 of the "Majesty of the Seas" and a
picture looking back at the pools on deck # 11. 12 decks in all,
nice boat.

Bill Archer
"...your Vans RV sweater made it all the way to
Anchorage Alaska with
me last weekend. I had a 24 hour layover and the sweater came in
handy. This picture was taken inside the Captain Cook Hotel in
front of the bust of Captain Cook."- Bill Archer A-320 Captain for America West soon to be US Airways."

- Don HullHere’s a photo
of me in my VAF.net Cap and Sweater at Daytona International
Speedway prior to the 2006 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. I love my
sweater; it’s very comfortable and easy to slip on and off.
(D. Cunningham Photo)

- Paul Dye Nassau Bay, TX

Bruce Sacks
(RV-9 flying in a few months) "Here is the shirt and me at the
Udvar-Hazy Museum in Washington D.C. I wonder how long before an RV
will be displayed at the Smithsonian. I think they have earned their
place in our nation's aviation history!"

Sunday, December 4th, Sedona, AZ
airport. Sorry for the photo quality, all I had was my phone. Unfortunately
my RV-8 is not finished yet, so this visit was via B737 and rent car combo.
Hiked a couple of trails while there and definitely plan to return ASAP.William SlaughterRV-8 still buildingHouston, TX

I'd like if at all possible
to get a few photos of the '06 VAF Cap
and Shirt in interesting places and add these to the cap/shirt page.
Great Wall, North Pole, Smithsonian, Grand Canyon, Sydney harbor....whatever you
got. Get a photo of the cap on your head (or shirt) with something real
cool behind you and I'll add it to the site. Thanks if you can
help! dr

'Collectable' Nose-art-style shirt#1 IS SOLD OUT! (only one production run - new design in a couple of years - only a few
left).(about this shirt /
latest sightings)

COLLECTOR SHIRT #1 IS SOLD OUT - TAKE CARE OF YOURS IF YOU OWN ONE.

"Yet it is not the blatant sexuality of nose art that I've fallen in
love with, but rather the nostalgia and romance it represents. More
importantly, it honors the crews and missing men who once had an
almost inconceivable attachment to a single airplane, so much that
they named it, painted a lady on it and revered it as something more
than an inanimate piece of metal." - - Sarah Smiley (columns
)

A Little History On The Shirt's Back
Image:How do you combine the look and feel of WWII nose art with the romance of
flight and the modern practice of 'surfing the web'? Well, this is Ted
Robinson's take on it. Using as a backdrop Al Moore's 1949 'Hawaiian
Hula Maiden' (licensed copy purchased) the
2005-2006 VansAirForce.net T-shirt tries to combine all these. Mr. Moore (b:? - d:1991) was a busy artist from the late 30s to the late
50s, generating advertising, story art and pin-ups. Cover art for The
Saturday Evening Post and Collier's and interior work for these and Woman's
Home Companion, American Magazine, Woman's Day, McCall's and Cosmopolitan.
Ad work for Hertz, Whitman's Chocolates, Ford, Camay, Nash, US Rubber, Coke,
Old Gold and Botany. He replaced Vargas and Petty as Esquire's main pin-up
artist; calendars for Esquire, Brown and Bigelow. His last illustrations
were for Pan Am and the US Olympics. Samples of his work. The modified graphic at right was created by Ted Robinson, brother of RV-9 builder
Gary Robinson. It reflects the nostalgia and romance of the time
period surrounding WWII aviation:
the youth, the passions, the confidence and desires of the men piloting
America's bombers and fighters into harm's way. To many, the artwork
depicted on their aircraft represented the very thing they were fighting for
- their girlfriends and wives. Read the sidebar at right... Fast forward to 2006 and some will say this isn't the most politically
correct image to use. I don't. Flip through the standard channels on your
TV during dinner if you want to see something more risqué.
If
anyone's political correctness is piqued, however, my apologies. I hope you enjoy the shirt and get a chance to both 'Surf
(the web) & Fly (your RV)'.

About the front image:This was submitted by RV-7 builder Brad Oliver. His web site is
www.RV7Factory.com. The red in
Brad's image was changed to blue at the last minute, as it was going to be
rendered nearly invisible due to the shirt's color (done with Brad's
blessing).

Front image (6" across)

Back Image (12" across):

click for enlargement

click for enlargement

The color of the shirt is very close toand sorta resembles a faded red shop rag.